US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said any major reforms require “consensus” as protests erupt in Israel condemning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s project to change the judiciary.
In an interview with Agence France Presse, Blinken said that while the United States would not take sides on the details of the proposals “in a very dynamic Israeli democracy”, reaching “consensus is the best way forward.”
He added: “We know from our democratic experience that when considering big changes – big reforms – in laws and institutions, consensus is perhaps the most important issue,” given that consensus is needed to “ensure something that is not only acceptable but also durable.
The far-right Netanyahu government has unveiled a reform plan that would allow lawmakers to overturn Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority vote.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest the reform, and President Isaac Herzog warned of the danger of a “civil war”.
Some critics of the proposal have linked it to the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial and said he sought to undermine the justice system he has turned against himself, which he denies and sees as unfair and politicized.
Source: AFP
